James "Whitey" Bulger: Proof: Hiding out in CT all this time...

Boston's most notorious gangster was captured a few days ago -- James "Whitey" Bulger.  He had been in hiding for 18 years.  The cops think he has been in Los Angles with his girlfriend but Christine sent me secret footage proving that "Whitey" has been hiding out on her deck for the past decade.  Warning:  because Mr. Whitey is photo-averse, the images are little blurry.

Scans: Women on Coins

My friend who picked up the bottles at a tag sale just brought in a bag of old coins.  I love old coins.

From Great Britain - a half penny.  She is surrounded by a ship in the right, signifying the might of the British Navy.  But I'm not sure what the tower on the left is all about  - Nelson's Monument?

From Italy.  There's a winged angel on her left shoulder, an olive branch in the right.

Note that the British figure is kinda scrawny, fully clothed, a warrior. The Italian figure is lush, has bare breasts, belly button shows -- she's a babe.   Does this surprise anyone?  Anyone?  I thought not.

More Scans: The Rose and the Cannonball

A rose from the garden.

This is a 19th century cannon ball.  It's about 3 inches in diameter, a solid ball of iron, quite heavy.  If you were to drop it on your foot, for example, it would break a toe.

These images are available at my gallery www.riverwindsgallery.com.  They are not yet posted on my website www.maryannglass.com.

Peonies: Sunshine and Shade

This shot was taken in the shade.

And this in sunlight (in my kitchen).  You always read that shade light is blue, but it really is!  These were not taken on the same day, nor are they the same peony, but they are both pink. 

I left the bluish tone on the shade peony - I liked the effect.  Both of these were shot with a telephoto lens.  I had to stand a ways back, but the lens brought me close in.

More Scans: Little Buildings

Not finding much inspiration in the landscape recently, I turned inward to my scanner.  I have a collection of little metal tourist schlock buildings that I really love.  So I wondered how they would look, given the scanner treatment.

The Statue of Liberty, about 2 inches high, made of pot metal.

The Chrysler building, beloved of New Yorkers, about the same height. (It took many years before this building made it into the pot metal mix -- the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building have been around for decades, but the Chrysler was sadly neglected for a long time.)

And the Alamo, which is about 3/4 inch high.

I'm going to continue this series -- the portfolio is called Stuff.

The images are available at my gallery www.riverwindsgallery.com.

And, to change the subject entirely, check out www.frescotours.com for our fabulous photo tour next April in the Basque country.

Road Trip: Dutchess and Columbia Counties

I woke up Memorial Day and knew it was time to get out of Dodge.  So I got in my car and headed north.  A good road trip needs a goal -- I was going to go to Millerton and buy some books at the bookstore there, and then to East Chatham to one of my favorite stores, Classic Country.

It was a perfect early summer day.

First stop- McEnroe's Farm Market, just outside Amenia.  They have organic everything - fruits, veggies, meats.  They has set up a grill outside, the blackboard said "Our Own" so I got that classic organic meal -- bratwurst and sauerkraut on a hot dog bun.  And organic ice tea.  Delicious.  Cannot go to a nursery without buying plants for the garden.

Got frilly white snapdragons and red salvia.  Always swore I would never ever buy red salvia.  But there it is.
On to Millerton.

The town hall was decked out for the holiday.

Walked through the town.  Looked into the shops.  Bought a couple of mysteries.  Moving on.

Photo taken with one hand, driving with the other.

I stopped to take this photo.

Very small town hall.

Beautiful church across the square.  Erected 1771.  With an old cemetery.

Finally got to Classic Country.  Closed early for the holiday.  No big deal.  On the road again.

On the road again.  Saw this sign. "National Beauty Award Highway 1969."   Had to drive down the road.

Uh, it was nice...looked like the rest of Columbia County that I had been driving through.

And then a hunt for the Taconic and the drive home.  That's Sophie on the sidewalk to greet me.

Peonies from the Garden

The peonies opened slowly and stayed less than a week.

They filled the house with fragrance.  A few small stragglers are opening up.  Now it's time for the roses.

This photo was taken in my somewhat dark dining room -- there are windows on either side of the table, whose light is softened by vintage fiberglass curtains.   This type of image does best out of the direct light.

Art in the Loft: Reception Saturday 4-6

I was honored to be chosen to be one of the three artists featured at the Millbrook Winery's Art in the Loft, sponsored by the Dutchess County Arts Council.  For this event I'm showing 11 photos from my County Fair series, taken at the Dutchess and Columbia county fairs.

The artists' reception is this Saturday, June 4, from 4-6 pm.  For directions, see www.millbrookwine.com.  The other artists are Christa Forrest, pastels; and Joan Blazis Levitt, etchings.  It's an interesting, lovely show.  Hope to see you there -- it's supposed to be a beautiful day for wine tasting and art looking.

I took all of these at night, natch, using ISOs of 100 to 1600 , depending on whether I wanted blur or sharp.  I used a plugin- Noiseware - to take care of any pixelization issues.

For the entire county fair portfolio, check out my website www.maryannglass.com or the images are available at my gallery www.riverwindsgallery.com.